CAREER MATURITY OF MEXICAN-AMERICAN AND ANGLO-AMERICAN HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of demographic variables on the career maturity of high school students. The study intended to determine the influence of race and socioeconomic status on career maturity. Multiple intercorrelations and regressions among the dependent variable, Career Maturity Inventory Scores (CMI), and the independent variables of socio-economic status, students' career aspirations, students' career expectations, students' post-high school plans, parents' career expectations, parents' career aspirations, parents' post-high school plans, and race were computed. Regression weights for each independent variable were also computed. The Career Maturity Inventory (CMI) and a Demographic Information Inventory (DII) were administered to two hundred and eighty high school students enrolled in a high school located in the southwestern section of the United States. Instrument administration was conducted within their regular classroom by the main investigator. The final sample consisted of seventy students from each grade (9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th) and Mexican-American students and Anglo-American students were proportionally represented at each grade. A factorial analysis of variance was computed to determine the influence of SES and race on career maturity. Multiple regression analyses were utilized to examine multiple correlations among the dependent and independent variables and to establish the regression weights for each independent variable. Results demonstrated that race and SES have a statistically significant impact on career maturity. The multiple regression analysis revealed that the best predictor of career maturity for the entire sample were the students' post-high school plans, race, and the students' career expectations. The sample was divided into two ethnic groups to determine the best predictors of career maturity for each ethnic group. The multiple regression for the Anglo-American sample revealed that the students' post-high school plans was the only statistically significant predictor of career maturity. In contrast, the students' post-high school plans and parents' career expectations were the two factors found to be of significant importance for the Mexican-American group. The salient feature of these analyses is that socio-economic status is a poor predictor of career maturity for both ethnic groups. Implications of the findings are discussed and future trends regarding the assessment of career maturity are outlined.